The six teams with at least five players ranked in the Top 100 – San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Atlanta, Baltimore and Tampa Bay - posted a collective 55-38-3 ATS (against the spread) count, covering the spread in 59 percent of their games last year.

The Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens were the only ones in that group to finish below .500 ATS in the regular season but went a perfect 4-0 ATS in the postseason – three of those as underdogs.

On the other end of the scale, the six teams with just one player or none ranked among the NFL elite – San Diego, Philadelphia, Tennessee, Oakland, St. Louis and Jacksonville - combined for a dismal 39-56-1 ATS record last season (41 percent ATS success).

The biggest anomaly among that group is the St. Louis Rams, who failed to have one player ranked among Prisco’s 100 best but still managed to finish 11-5 ATS in the regular season.

Prisco gave top honors to Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers but had only one more Cheesehead among the Top 100, No. 18 LB Clay Matthews. Green Bay, which went 9-7 ATS in 2012, is roped in with the likes of the Jets, Browns, Vikings and Colts as franchises with just two players in the Top 100.

Could this be a forerunner for a fall from the Packers this season? Early action on their season win total has sided with the under and has dropped that number from as high as 12 wins to 10.5 at some markets.

The best NFL bet last year, the Seattle Seahawks, boasted six players among the Top 100 – CB Richard Sherman, S Earl Thomas, QB Russell Wilson, T Russell Okung, RB Marshawn Lynch – and finished with an 11-5 ATS mark in the regular season and covered in both postseason appearances.

The team with the most players on Prisco’s list is the San Francisco 49ers, who feature eight Top-100 talents: LB Patrick Willis, LB Aldon Smith, DE Justin Smith, LB NaVorro Bowman, T Joe Staley, G Mike Iupati, QB Colin Kaepernick, WR Michael Crabtree. The Niners finished the regular season with a 9-7 ATS record and went 2-1 ATS in the playoffs.

Among the other teams with the most players ranked are the Denver Broncos (6), Baltimore Ravens (5), and Atlanta Falcons (5). Perhaps the biggest surprise is the five players placed among the Top 100 that play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Bucs, who went a profitable 10-5-1 ATS (7-9 SU) in 2012, have a roster highlighted by DT Gerald McCoy, CB Darrelle Revis (not with team last year), G Carl Nicks, WR Vincent Jackson, LB Lavonte David, who all ranked between No. 30 and No. 98.

Could this surplus of outstanding talent make Tampa Bay the team to watch in 2013? Oddsmakers have the Buccaneers’ season win total set at 6.5 (Over/Under -115) and they’re underdogs in nine of their first 15 games, according to the early NFL pointspreads.

Here’s how the NFL teams ranked in terms of Top-100 talents and their ATS records from the 2012 regular season:

I know it is the hardest time of the year to write a football betting article. If anyone will uses this as a standard to bet the NFL next season, take their action.
Doing a power rating before the start of the NFL teams is hard enough. Four weeks into the season, most of the power rating, industry wide, are worthless and need to be drastically adjusted.
If you want to go By Prosco's rating, your better off picking the team with the best looking cheerleaders every Sunday. Rating the players after the season is DONE and going back to look at their ATS record, would make anyone the NEXT Billy Walters (after the games have been played)
I'm sure Andrew Luck ( replacing Manning), Russell Wilson RG3 and of course Colin Kaepernick were on his list this time last year. This year they are rated 80,82,81,83 without any respect.I f they stay healthy, we will be enjoying one of the best QB classes of all-time.
Four weeks into the season, most of the power rating, industry wide, are worthless and need to be drastically adjusted.
Prosco Has Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots ranked 19th in the NFL? Is he even the best tight end in the game? Adrian Peterson, almost broke the rushing record with a mediocre young quarterback, no other offensive stars for defensive coordinators to key on, is ranked 6th? Put Peterson on an offense with a star quarterback and a couple of All-Pro linemen. They probably would be double-digit favorites throughout the season and chances are would not have a winning record against the spread. I am in fantasy leagues with some current Sportsbooks directors and past oddsmakers in Las Vegas. I will pass this by them and hope I don't get kicked out of the leagues.
Not to get struck by lightning, God could not help anyone betting this way.

Interesting that you'd want to take Pete Prisco's advice on anything involving the NFL.
A web site did breakdown the history of his NFL analyasis AND FOUND IT TO BE ONE OF THE WORST.
They actually challenged him to a NFL debate and of coarse he refused.
No offense to Pete but god help you if you decide to trust anything from him.

Huh with the league average over 3.1 I didn't think 5 sounded all that impressive but could be something to watch......thanx
And kinda cool to see STL is at the bottom of the league with ZERO yet were in a 4-way tie for the best ATS record in the league last year at 11-5.
However all 3 of the other teams they tied with were lead by brilliant rookie campaigns by their Q.B'. And no way they'll be catching teams (and bettors) off guard this year.
But damn though,this time last year if anyone had said INDY,SEA and WASH would be a combined 33-15 ATS,thenm add STL for 44-20 ATS. And they'd be laughed off the thread and into a loonie bin.

" I know it is the hardest time of the year to write a football betting article. If anyone will uses this as a standard to bet the NFL next season, take their action.
Doing a power rating before the start of the NFL teams is hard enough. Four wee..."

The Sabres were expected to move players at the trade deadline, but sending their top goaltender to the Islanders appears to be a rather curious move. Buffalo had already moved Jhonas Enroth to Dallas in exchange for Anders Lindback, who began his career with the lightning.

Lindback has been brutal this season, posting a record of 0-7-0 with a 3.95 GAA in seven starts with the Stars. He seems to be the most likely candidate to start tonight in Tampa. In the event that the Sabres choose to press Johnson into action, he's not been that sharp either, coming off a loss to Carolina that saw him surrender five goals on 41 shots.

Tampa owns the NHL's most potent offense, averaging over 3.3 goals per game. That could spell disaster for the Sabres who own the league's worst defense, surrendering more than 3.3 goals per game.

Tampa has won it's last three versus the Sabres, totaling a dozen goals in those three games. We should expect Lightning to strike in Tampa tonight.

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